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 With state and local governments urging isolation to stem the spread
of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly respiratory illness,
the 62-year-old Nebraska woman worries she will not be able to
provide emotional support for her daughter, whose husband is
paralyzed with guillain-barre syndrome.
If someone were to infect her son-in-law with his weakened immune
system, “he’d be dead,” Ostburg said.
Chicagoan Mike Wisler was prescribed a sedative to help him sleep
when the financial and emotional impact of the pandemic hit the
50-year-old bartender. “My mind won't shut off,” Wisler said. “As
soon as I wake up, it's like, ‘How am I going to get by this
month?'"
With public gatherings banned, his work tending bar at parties and
private events has evaporated.
In North Carolina, 23-year-old Niko, who asked that his last name
not be used, is in recovery for drug addiction, and fears a relapse.
The grocery store clerk is suffering nervous ticks and bouts of
reticence while trying to put on a brave face to avoid alarming
shoppers. “What I’m worrying about in my head, I’m only showing
about 20 percent of it,” he said.
Psychologists and psychiatrists are beginning to report signs of
distress among patients worried about the consequences of the
COVID-19 pandemic that has infected more than 11,500 nationwide, and
over 242,000 globally, killing nearly 10,000.
Six clinicians interviewed by Reuters say the coronavirus has been
the prime focus of virtually all recent therapy sessions.
Stress caused by fear of the disease is compounded by isolation,
mental health experts say, as governments close schools and
restaurants, and recommend that people limit social interaction.
Stress-reducing activities like exercise, watching sports and going
to movies, are becoming nearly impossible after shutdowns of gyms,
professional leagues and theaters.
'A BEAR WE CAN'T SEE'
The virus’ invisibility makes it all the harder to reconcile the
severity of the response.
“We’re all a little disoriented,” said Sharon Greenfield, a clinical
psychologist in Concord, Massachusetts.
“When we see a bear, we go straight into fight-or-flight, but this
is a bear we can’t see or taste. Our brains aren’t quite sure
whether we’re being exposed to a traumatic trigger or not.”
A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week showed 48% of Americans feel the
pandemic is an “imminent threat” to the United States, up 20
percentage points from previous polling taken March 2-3.
Psychiatrists interviewed by Reuters cited surges in requests for
new anti-anxiety prescriptions and longer refills on existing ones.
For mental health doctors, there is the challenge of providing
much-needed care while following social distancing guidelines. That
likely means seeing patients via video services.
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But remote therapy, known as telehealth, isn't covered by every insurance plan.
Federal legislation enacted this month in response to the coronavirus eases
restrictions on telehealth coverage under Medicare. Some states are also
requiring private insurers to cover telehealth more broadly.
Most doctors, though, have not historically provided it. A 2018 study published
in the American Psychological Association (APA) Journal showed nearly 60% of
providers do no online counseling, and just 6% do more than five hours per week.
Since the outbreak took hold, people are scrambling to figure out how to do
telehealth, said psychologist Lynn Bufka, director of practice research and
policy at the APA.
Greenfield said the mental health impact of the coronavirus should warrant a
coordinated response, and that federal and local leaders should have protocols
for managing a mental health emergency as they do a physical one.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had no immediate comment when
asked if coordinated plans exist.
COPING TOOLS
To manage anxiety, doctors recommend limiting news intake to once or twice a
day, to stay abreast of health experts’ recommendations while avoiding
over-exposure that can trigger panic.
They suggest watching comforting movies, video-chatting with family, and going
outside as long as it does not conflict with health experts’ guidance.
"Connect more deeply with nature, since that is a safe space many of us have
become too busy to enjoy,” said Charles Mobayed, a psychologist in Lunenburg,
Massachusetts.
They also recommend acknowledging anxious thoughts, rather than repressing them
- but then moving on quickly.
"Notice yourself starting to go there, and say, ‘I hear you, but I'm not gonna
think about that right now,’” said Laura Dalheim, a psychiatrist in New York
City, which has seen a big spike in coronavirus cases with increased testing.
Therapists who spend hours each day soothing the fears of others say they are
not immune to the anxiety all around them.
Dalheim says she's had to fight the urge to mirror her patients’ concern during
sessions. Greenfield, after an exhausting week, said she found herself on her
couch last Friday night eating cheese puffs - and in bed by 9:30.
It’s common for health workers to exhaust themselves in a crisis, and crucial
they heed the same stress-management advice they provide, said psychologist
Jacqueline Sperling, an instructor at Harvard Medical School.
“If you wear down your resources,” she said, “you have only an empty hand to
give.”
(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien, Andrew Hay and Timothy Aeppel ;
Editing by Michele Gershberg and Bill Berkrot)
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